Electronic device

ABSTRACT

An electronic device including a display unit, a touch unit and a driving unit is provided by the present disclosure. The touch unit includes a first region and a second region. The first region and the second region are separately driven by the driving unit, and the display unit is overlapped with the touch unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 1. Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to an electronic device, moreparticularly to a foldable electronic device.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Foldable electronic devices or deformable electronic devices have becomeone of the topics in the new generation of electronic technologyrecently, and the demands of integrating the foldable display deviceinto the electronic device are increased accordingly. As the demands ofthe consumers to the foldable electronic device are getting higher, toachieve the desired product specifications such as deformable effect,life span, and display effect of the foldable display device is one ofthe directions of the development in the related field.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

An electronic device is disclosed in the present disclosure. Theelectronic device includes a touch unit that can be divided into two ormore portions. The touch unit in each of the portions may be driven by adriving circuit of the electronic device to provide various kinds offunctions under different modes of the electronic device.

In some embodiments, an electronic device is provided by the presentdisclosure. The electronic device includes a display unit, a touch unitincluding a first region and a second region, and a driving unit. Thefirst region and the second region are separately driven by the drivingunit, and the display unit is overlapped with the touch unit.

In some embodiments, a foldable electronic device is provided by thepresent disclosure. The foldable electronic device includes a displayunit, a touch unit including a first region and a second region, afolding axis located between the first region and the second region, anda driving unit. The first region may be electrically connected to afirst signal input, the second region may be electrically connected to asecond signal input, and the first region and the second region of thetouch unit may be separately driven by the driving unit through thefirst signal input and the second signal input.

These and other objectives of the present disclosure will no doubtbecome obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the embodiment that is illustrated inthe various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a top view of an electronic deviceaccording to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of an electronicdevice according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of anelectronic device in a folding state according to a first embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates another partial cross-sectional view ofan electronic device in a folding state according to a first embodimentof the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of an electronicdevice according to a variant embodiment of a first embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a top view of an electronic deviceaccording to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a top view of an electronic deviceaccording to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a top view of an electronic deviceaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a top view of an electronic deviceaccording to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates a top view of a portion of wires of anelectronic device according to a fifth embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 11 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion ofwires shown in FIG. 10 along the line A-A′.

FIG. 12 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion ofwires of an electronic device according to a variant embodiment of afifth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion ofwires of an electronic device according to another variant embodiment ofa fifth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 schematically illustrates a top view of touch electrodes of anelectronic device according to a first embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 15 schematically illustrates a top view of touch electrodes of anelectronic device according to a variant embodiment of a firstembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 schematically illustrates a top view of an electronic deviceincluding haptic actuators according to a first embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 17 schematically illustrates a partial cross-sectional view ofhaptic actuators in an off state according to a first embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 18 schematically illustrates a partial cross-sectional view ofhaptic actuators in an on state according to a first embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 19 schematically illustrates a flow chart of auto function of anelectronic device according to a first embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 20 schematically illustrates an electronic device in differentstates according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure may be understood by reference to the followingdetailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings asdescribed below. It is noted that, for purposes of illustrative clarityand being easily understood by the readers, various drawings of thisdisclosure show a portion of the electronic device, and certain elementsin various drawings may not be drawn to scale. In addition, the numberand dimension of each element shown in drawings are only illustrativeand are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Certain terms are used throughout the description and following claimsto refer to particular elements. As one skilled in the art willunderstand, electronic equipment manufacturers may refer to an elementby different names. This document does not intend to distinguish betweenelements that differ in name but not function.

In the following description and in the claims, the terms “include”,“comprise” and “have” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus shouldbe interpreted to mean “include, but not limited to . . . ”.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to asbeing “disposed on” or “connected to” another element or layer, it canbe directly on or directly connected to the other element or layer, orintervening elements or layers may be presented (indirectly). Incontrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” or“directly connected to” another element or layer, there are nointervening elements or layers presented.

Although terms such as first, second, third, etc., may be used todescribe diverse constituent elements, such constituent elements are notlimited by the terms. The terms are used only to discriminate aconstituent element from other constituent elements in thespecification. The claims may not use the same terms, but instead mayuse the terms first, second, third, etc. with respect to the order inwhich an element is claimed. Accordingly, in the following description,a first constituent element may be a second constituent element in aclaim.

It should be noted that the technical features in different embodimentsdescribed in the following can be replaced, recombined, or mixed withone another to constitute another embodiment without departing from thespirit of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a top view of an electronic deviceaccording to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. According tothe present embodiment, the electronic device shown in FIG. 1 may be adisplay device DD, and may for example include laptop, public display,tiled display, vehicle display, touch display, television, surveillancecamera, smart phone, tablet computer, light source module, lightingdevice or other electronic devices applied to the above-mentionedproducts, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the electronicdevice may include an antenna or sensing device. For example, when theelectronic device is an antenna, the display unit in the display devicemay be replaced with the smallest working unit, but the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, the display device DD inthe present embodiment may be a foldable display device 100, and may forexample be folded along at least one folding axis FX repeatedly, but notlimited thereto. It should be noted that the term “folded” here mayrepresent curved, bent, folded, rolled, flexed, or other kinds ofdeformation, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The foldabledisplay device 100 is taken as an example of the electronic device todescribe the embodiments of the present disclosure in the following. Asshown in FIG. 1, the foldable display device 100 may include threefolding axes FX, that is, the foldable display device 100 in the presentembodiment may be folded one or more times along at least one of thethree bending axes FX, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, thefoldable display device 100 may include one folding axis FX, two foldingaxes FX, four folding axes FX or more folding axes FX, and the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, the foldable displaydevice 100 may be folded inward or outward according to the design.

In the present embodiment, the display device DD (the foldable displaydevice 100) may include a display unit DU, a touch unit TU and a drivingunit DM, wherein the display unit DU and/or the touch unit TU arefoldable and include a folding axis. These elements or layers will bedetailed in the following.

Referring to FIG. 1 as well as FIG. 2, FIG. 2 schematically illustratesa cross-sectional view of an electronic device according to a firstembodiment of the present disclosure. In order to simplify the figures,the structure shown in FIG. 2 only illustrates the manner of stackingand disposition of each of the layers or elements, and the thickness orwidth of each layer is not limited to what is shown in FIG. 2. As shownin FIG. 2, the display unit DU may include a substrate SB, an electricallayer EL and an encapsulation layer EN. The foldable display device 100may selectively include an optical layer OP and a cover layer COdisposed on the touch unit TU in addition to the above-mentioned layersor elements. The optical layer OP may for example include organicmaterials or inorganic materials which can improve the opticalperformance of the foldable display device 100, and the cover layer COmay for example include glass or other materials that can cover thefoldable display device 100 to protect the elements or layers in thefoldable display device 100, but not limited thereto. The layers andelements included in the foldable display device 100 shown in FIG. 2 maybe applied to each of the embodiments in the following, and will not beredundantly described. According to the present embodiment, thesubstrate SB may be an insulating layer structure with single layer ormulti-layers, wherein the insulating layer structure has a supportingfunction or buffer function. For example, the substrate SB may forexample include (but not limited to) an insulating layer, adhesive layerand/or supporting layer (not shown in FIG. 2), wherein the insulatinglayer may for example include a polyimide (PI) layer or other suitableinsulating materials, the supporting layer may for example includepolyethylene terephthalate (PET) or other suitable materials, and theadhesive layer may for example include suitable adhesive such that thesupporting layer and the insulating layer may be connected to eachother, but not limited thereto. In addition, the substrate SB mayfurther include a buffer layer in some embodiments, but not limitedthereto.

In the present embodiment, the foldable display device 100 may include afoldable region and a non-foldable region, wherein a portion of thefoldable display device 100 located in the foldable region may forexample be folded along the folding axis, and the area of the foldabledisplay device 100 other than the foldable region may be thenon-foldable region. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the foldabledisplay device 100 may include a foldable region FR, wherein a portionof the foldable display device 100 located in the foldable region FR mayfor example be folded along a folding axis FX1, and the area of thefoldable display device 100 other than the foldable region FR may be thenon-foldable region NFR, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments,when the foldable display device 100 includes another folding axisexcept for the folding axis FX1, the foldable display device 100 mayfurther include other foldable regions corresponding to the otherfolding axis.

The electrical layer EL is disposed on the substrate SB and may includeelectrical elements such as driving elements, light emitting elementsand/or light converting elements (not shown in FIG. 2). The drivingelements may for example include thin film transistors (TFT) to drivethe light emitting elements, but not limited thereto. The light emittingelements may include light emitting diode (LED), but not limitedthereto. The light emitting diode may for example include mini lightemitting diodes (mini-LED), micro light emitting diodes (micro-LED),organic light emitting diodes (OLED), quantum dot light emitting diodes(QD-LED) or the combinations of the above-mentioned light emittingdiodes. In an embodiment, the chip size of the light emitting diode mayrange from 300 micrometers (μm) to 10 millimeters (mm), the chip size ofthe mini LED may range from 100 micrometers to 300 micrometers, and thechip size of the micro LED may range from 1 micrometer to 100micrometers, but not limited thereto. The light converting elements mayfor example include quantum dot, fluorescent material, phosphorescentmaterial, color filter, other suitable materials or the combinations ofthe above-mentioned materials, but not limited thereto.

In addition, the display unit DU includes a display region DR and anon-display region PR located outside of the display region DR. In thepresent embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the electrical layer EL mayinclude a plurality of sub-pixels, each of the sub-pixels may forexample include a portion of the light converting materials and thelight emitting element and the driving element corresponding to theportion of the light converting materials, each of the sub-pixels mayfor example emit red light, blue light, green light or the light withother suitable colors, the sub-pixels emitting different colors of lightmay for example form a pixel PX, and the electrical layer EL may includea plurality of pixels PX, but not limited thereto. In other words, thedisplay unit DU in the present embodiment is the entire display elementof the foldable display device 100 used for displaying images orpictures, and the display unit DU includes various kinds of electricalelements needed to display images and pictures. The display region DRmay for example be defined by the plurality of pixels PX in theelectrical layer EL of the display unit DU for display, and thenon-display region PR is the region of the electrical layer EL otherthan the display region DR, wherein the peripheral wires and/or theperipheral circuits PC such as driving elements may be disposed in thenon-display region, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, thefoldable display device 100 may be other kinds of display devices suchas a liquid crystal display device. When the foldable display device 100is a liquid crystal display device, the electrical layer EL may forexample include layers such as a conductive layer, an insulating layeror liquid crystal layer, and the foldable display device 100 may furtherinclude a back light module, but not limited thereto.

Referring to FIG. 1, as mentioned above, the display unit DU of thepresent embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is foldable. For example, the displayunit DU may include a folding axis FX1, a folding axis FX2 and a foldingaxis FX3 extending along a direction X respectively, and the displayunit DU may be folded in a direction Z at the position corresponding toany one of the folding axes, but not limited thereto. In someembodiments, the folding axis FX1, the folding axis FX2 and the foldingaxis FX3 may for example extend along a direction Y, and the displayunit DU may be folded in a direction perpendicular to the direction Y atthe position corresponding to any one of the folding axes. In someembodiments, the folding axis FX1, the folding axis FX2 and the foldingaxis FX3 may extend along the direction X or the direction Yrespectively, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The foldingaxis FX2 and the folding axis FX3 may for example be located at twoopposite sides of the display region DR. The folding angle of thefoldable display device 100 may be adjusted according to the demands ofthe design, for example, the same surfaces (such as the first surfaceS1-1 and the first surface S1-2 (or display surface) shown in FIG. 3) attwo opposite sides of the folding axis FX may substantially be parallelto each other or may include an included angle. In addition, theelements or the layers located in the non-display region PR may befolded to the rear surface (such as the second surface S2) of thedisplay device along the folding axis FX2 and the folding axis FX3, butnot limited thereto. It should be noted that the folding directions andfolding angles of the foldable display device 100 respectively along thefolding axis FX1, the folding axis FX2 and the folding axis FX3 may bethe same or different, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.The contents of the display unit DU described in the present embodimentmay be applied to the following embodiments, and will not be redundantlydescribed.

Referring to FIG. 1 as well as FIG. 2, FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, FIG. 14schematically illustrates a top view of touch electrodes of anelectronic device according to a first embodiment of the presentdisclosure, and FIG. 15 schematically illustrates a top view of touchelectrodes of an electronic device according to a variant embodiment ofa first embodiment of the present disclosure. According to the presentdisclosure, the touch unit TU may be divided into at least two regions.For example, the touch unit TU shown in FIG. 1 is divided into tworegions (the first region R1 and the second region R2), but the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the touch unitTU may include three or more regions. In the present embodiment, asshown in FIG. 1, the touch unit TU may include a first region R1 (alsoconsidered as first sub-unit) and a second region R2 (also considered assecond sub-unit). When the foldable display device 100 is not folded(that is, the foldable display device 100 is a flat, as shown in FIG.2), a spacing T1 may be included between the first region R1 and thesecond region R2. In the top view direction Z of the foldable displaydevice 100, the folding axis FX1 may be located between the first regionR1 and the second region R2, but not limited thereto. Specifically, thetouch unit TU may include the first region R1 located at a side of thefolding axis FX1 and the second region R2 located at another side of thefolding axis FX1.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the display unit DU may at leastpartially be overlapped with the touch unit TU in the top view directionZ. Specifically, the first region R1 and the second region R2 of thetouch unit TU may respectively overlap a portion of the display unit DU,but not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 2, the touch unit TU of thepresent embodiment may be disposed on the display unit DU. Specifically,the first region R1 and the second region R2 of the touch unit TU may bedisposed on the display unit DU, but not limited thereto. In someembodiments, the touch unit TU may be integrated into the display unitDU, for example, the touch unit TU may be disposed between theencapsulation layer EN and the electrical layer EL of the display unitDU, but not limited thereto.

According to the present embodiment, the touch unit TU may include aplurality of repeated touch electrodes TE, wherein a portion of thetouch electrodes TE sharing the same control unit in the plurality ofthe touch electrodes may forma region. The first region R1 and thesecond region R2 may respectively include a plurality of touchelectrodes TE. For example, as shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, the touchelectrodes TE in the first region R1 may share the same control unit,and the touch electrodes TE in the second region R2 may share the samecontrol unit, but not limited thereto. The touch electrodes TE may forexample include a reflective electrode, a transparent electrode ortranslucent electrode, wherein the reflective electrode may for exampleinclude silver, germanium, aluminum, copper, molybdenum, titanium ortin, the transparent electrode may for example include indium tin oxide(ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO), and the translucent electrode may forexample include metal thin film electrodes such as a magnesium-silveralloy thin film electrode, gold thin film electrode, platinum thin filmelectrode or aluminum thin film electrode, but not limited thereto.

As shown in FIG. 14, each of the touch electrodes TE (shown in thedotted line of FIG. 14) in the first region R1 and the second region R2may be a repeated electrode unit (for example, the touch electrodeTE1-1, the touch electrode TE1-2, the touch electrode TE2-1 and thetouch electrode TE2-2, but only for illustration, each of the touchelectrodes shown in FIG. 14 may be regarded as an electrode unit). Thatis, the touch electrodes TE are the touch elements in the touch unit TUincluding repeated pattern, and in some embodiments, the adjacent touchelectrodes TE may be electrically connected to each other through abridge BC such that the touch electrodes TE electrically connected toeach other may form electrode strings extending along the direction X(for example, the touch electrode TE1-1 and the touch electrode TE1-3)or the direction Y (for example, the touch electrode TE1-2 and the touchelectrode TE1-4). It should be noted that although only one bridge BC isshown between the adjacent electrode units of the electrode string inFIG. 14, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In someembodiments, two or more bridges BC may be included between the adjacentelectrode units of the electrode string according to the design of theproduct. In addition, as shown in FIG. 14, the touch unit TU may includea plurality of first connection portions C1, a plurality of secondconnection portions C2, a plurality of first transportation lines TR1and a plurality of second transportation lines TR2. The first connectionportions C1 may be electrically connected to the electrode stringsextending along the direction Y (for example, the touch electrode TE1-2and the touch electrode TE1-4), and the second connection portions C2may be electrically connected to the electrode strings extending alongthe direction X (for example, the touch electrode TE1-1 and the touchelectrode TE1-3). The first transportation line TR1 may transport thesignals of the touch electrodes in the electrode strings extending alongthe direction Y, and the second transportation line TR2 may transportthe signals of the touch electrodes in the electrode strings extendingalong the direction X.

Take the first region R1 as an example, in the present embodiment, thetouch electrode TE1-1 and the touch electrode TE1-3 may include the samesignal, and the touch electrode TE1-2 and the touch electrode TE1-4 mayinclude the same signal through the electrode strings formed by thebridges BC, and the touch electrode TE1-2 and the touch electrode TE1-3may include different signals. Therefore, the signal in the firsttransportation line TR1 and the first connection portion C1 is differentfrom the signal in the second transportation line TR2 and the secondconnection portion C2. However, because the signal in the firsttransportation line TR1 and the first connection portion C1 and thesignal in the second transportation line TR2 and the second connectionportion C2 would be transported to the same control unit (such as thedriving circuit), all of the touch electrodes in the region R1 may beregarded to be located in the same region, and will not be defined asthe touch electrodes in different regions due to the different signalsthey received. The definition mentioned above may be applied to thedefinition of the touch electrodes in the second region R2, and will notbe redundantly described.

In addition, the touch unit TU may further include a plurality ofinsulating portions IP disposed above the bridges BC or below thebridges BC. A plurality of bridges BC may be disposed to reduce thepossibility of poor touch due to the breaking of wires. The insulatingportion IP may for example include any suitable insulating materials,and may electrically insulate the electrode strings extending along thedirection X and the electrode strings extending along the direction Y,but not limited thereto. The first connection portion C1, the secondconnection portion C2, the first transportation line TR1 and the secondtransportation line TR2 may have the same or different materials as thetouch electrodes, in addition, the first connection portion C1, thesecond connection portion C2, the first transportation line TR1 and thesecond transportation line TR2 may be disposed on the same layer ordifferent layers as the touch electrodes, the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. In some embodiments, the first transportation line TR1and the second transportation line TR2 may be the first wire or thesecond wire in the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the firsttransportation line TR1 and the second transportation line TR2 connectedto the first region R1 may be the first wire L1 shown in FIG. 1, and thefirst transportation line TR1 and the second transportation line TR2connected to the second region R2 may be the second wire L2 shown inFIG. 1, but not limited thereto.

According to the present embodiment, the material of a portion P1 of thetouch electrodes TE located in the first region R1 and the material ofanother portion P2 of the touch electrodes TE located in the firstregion R1 may be different. Similarly, the material of a portion P1′ ofthe touch electrodes TE located in the second region R2 and the materialof another portion P2′ of the touch electrodes TE located in the secondregion R2 may be different. In detail, the material of the portion P1 orthe portion P1′ of the touch electrodes located in the foldable regionFR (such as the touch electrode TE2-1 and the touch electrode TE2-2shown in FIG. 14) and the material of the another portion P2 or portionP2′ of the touch electrodes located in the non-foldable region NFR (suchas the touch electrode TE1-1 to the touch electrode TE1-4) may bedifferent in the present embodiment, but not limited thereto. Accordingto the present embodiment, The material of the touch electrode TE1-1 tothe touch electrode TE1-4 may for example include indium tin oxide,indium zinc oxide (IZO), aluminum zinc oxide (AZO) or other suitablematerials, and the material of the touch electrode TE2 may for exampleinclude Ag nano-wire (AGNW), metals, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)(PEDOT), carbon nano-tube (CNT) or other suitable conductive materials,but not limited thereto. Because the material of the touch electrodesTE2-1 and the touch electrode TE2-2 near the folding axis FX1 and thematerial of the touch electrode TE1-1 to the touch electrode TE1-4 aredifferent (in other words, the material of the touch electrode TE2-1 andthe touch electrode TE2-2 is folding resistant compared to the materialof the touch electrode TE1-1 to the touch electrode TE1-4), thestructural strength of the touch unit TU near the foldable region (ornear the folding axis FX1) may be improved, and the stability andreliability of the touch display device may be improved.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 15, each of the touch electrodes TE (shownin the dotted line of FIG. 15) in the first region R1 and the secondregion R2 may be regarded as a repeated electrode unit (for example, thetouch electrode TE1-1, the touch electrode TE1-2, and the touchelectrode TE2, but only for illustration). That is, the touch electrodesTE in the touch unit TU are the touch elements having repeated pattern,and the repeated pattern may be separated, but not limited thereto. Asshown in FIG. 15, the touch unit TU may include a plurality of thirdconnection portions C3 and a plurality of third transportation linesTR3, wherein the material and disposition of the third connectionportions C3 may refer to the first connection portion and the secondconnection portion mentioned above, and the material and disposition ofthe third transportation line TR3 may refer to the first transportationline TR1 and the second transportation line TR2 mentioned above, whichwill not be redundantly described here. Similar to what is shown in FIG.14, the material of the touch electrode TE2 located in the foldableregion FR and the material of the touch electrode TE1-1 and the touchelectrode TE1-2 located in the non-foldable region NFR may be differentin the present variant embodiment, such that the folding endurance ofthe structure of the touch unit TU near the foldable region may beimproved, and the stability and reliability of the touch display devicemay thereby be improved.

It should be noted that although the touch electrodes TE1 (including thetouch electrode TE1-1 to the touch electrode TE1-4) in the first regionR1 and the second region R2 have the same material, and the touchelectrodes TE2 (including the touch electrode TE2, the touch electrodeTE2-1 and the touch electrode TE2-2) in the first region R1 and thesecond region R2 have the same material, as shown in FIG. 14 and FIG.15, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments,the material of the touch electrodes TE1 in the first region R1 may bedifferent from the material of the touch electrodes TE1 in the secondregion R2, or the material of the touch electrodes TE2 in the firstregion R1 may be different from the material of the touch electrodes TE2in the second region R2, but not limited thereto. Besides, in someembodiments, the structure of the touch electrodes shown in FIG. 14 andthe structure of the touch electrodes shown in FIG. 15 may be integratedto form the touch electrodes of the foldable display device 100. Forexample, the structure of the touch electrodes in the first region R1may refer to the touch electrodes shown in FIG. 14, and the structure ofthe touch electrodes in the second region R2 may refer to the touchelectrodes shown in FIG. 15, or, the touch electrodes in the firstregion R1 and the second region R2 may respectively include thestructures of the touch electrodes shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15simultaneously, but not limited thereto. The description of the touchunit TU, and the type, material and design of the touch electrode TE inthe touch unit TU may be applied to each of the embodiments and variantembodiments of the present disclosure, and will not be redundantlydescribed. It should be noted that the mesh-shaped touch electrodestructure shown in FIG. 15 is only for illustration, it does notrepresent the real structure of the touch electrode of the presentembodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the foldable display device 100 may include drivingunits DM located outside of the display region DR. The driving units DMmay for example be an encapsulation element, and may include a firstdriving circuit IC1 and a second driving circuit IC2, but not limitedthereto. In some embodiments, the first driving circuit IC1 and thesecond driving circuit IC2 may for example be disposed in thenon-display region PR of the foldable display device 100 through a chipon substrate method, but not limited thereto. It should be noted thatalthough it is not shown in FIG. 1, the driving unit DM including thefirst driving circuit IC1 and the driving unit DM including the seconddriving circuit IC2 may be connected to each other through a timecontroller, but not limited thereto. According to the presentembodiment, the first driving circuit IC1 of the driving unit DM maydrive the first region R1 of the touch unit TU, and the second drivingcircuit IC2 of the driving unit DM may drive the second region R2 of thetouch unit TU. That is, the first region R1 and the second region R2 areseparately driven by the driving unit DM, but not limited thereto. Itshould be noted that “the first driving circuit IC1 may drive the firstregion R1 of the touch unit TU” mentioned above means that the pluralityof the touch electrodes TE in the first region R1 may be driven by thefirst driving circuit IC1, and “the second driving circuit IC2 may drivethe second region R2 of the touch unit TU” means that the plurality ofthe touch electrodes TE in the second region R2 may be driven by thesecond driving circuit IC2.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the foldable display device 100may include a first signal input IS1 and a second signal input IS2located outside of the display region DR. For example, as shown in FIG.1, the first signal input IS1 and the second signal input IS2 may bedisposed in the non-display region PR of the foldable display device100. As shown in FIG. 1, the first signal input IS1 and the secondsignal input IS2 may respectively be disposed at a side of thecorresponding folding axis opposite to the display region DR. In detail,the first signal input IS1 is disposed in the non-display region PR,which is a side of the folding axis FX2 opposite to the display regionDR, and the second signal input IS2 is disposed in the non-displayregion PR, which is a side of the folding axis FX3 opposite to thedisplay region DR, but not limited thereto. In the present embodiment,the driving unit DM may be disposed on a circuit board DP. The drivingunit DM may be electrically connected to the first signal input IS1 andthe second signal input IS2 respectively through the circuit board DP.The first signal input IS1 and the second signal input IS2 mayrespectively include a plurality of connection pads MP, wherein theconnection pads MP may be electrically connected to the first region R1of the touch unit TU through a plurality of first wires L1 andelectrically connected to the second region R2 of the touch unit TUthrough a plurality of second wires L2 respectively. The circuit boardDP may for example include flexible printed circuit board (FPCB),printed circuit board (PCB) or the combination of the above-mentionedcircuit boards, but not limited thereto. The first driving circuit IC1and the second driving circuit IC2 of the driving unit DM may separatelydrive the touch electrodes TE in the first region R1 and the secondregion R2 through the electrical connection or the coupling mentionedabove.

The touch unit TU may be turned on by partition, that is, the touch unitTU may be driven by different driving circuits separately. Therefore,the foldable display device 100 of the present embodiment may providevarious kinds of operational states and functions. For example, one ofthe first region R1 and the second region R2 may be turned on, andanother one of the first region R1 and the second region R2 may beturned off, or, the first region R1 and the second region R2 may both beturned on or turned off, the present disclosure is not limited thereof.In addition, because the touch electrodes TE in the first region R1 maybe driven by the first driving circuit IC1 which is near the firstregion R1, and the touch electrodes TE in the second region R2 may bedriven by the second driving circuit IC2 which is near the second regionR2 in the present embodiment, the risk of high impedance caused by longwires (such as the first wire L1 and the second wire L2) may be reduced,and the stability and reliability of the foldable display device 100 maybe improved.

It should be noted that the size and shape of the circuit board DP inFIG. 1 and the following figures are only for illustration, it does notrepresent the real size and shape of the circuit board DP. In addition,the number and the extending direction of the wires in FIG. 1 and thefollowing figures are only for illustration, the present disclosure isnot limited thereto. For example, greater or smaller number of the firstwires L1 and the second wires L2 may be included in FIG. 1, or, thefirst wires L1 and the second wires L2 may respectively enter the firstregion R1 and the second region R2 from different sides of the firstregion R1 and the second region R2, which is not the extending directionshown in FIG. 1, but not limited thereto. The first wires L1 and thesecond wires L2 may be disposed on the same surface as the first regionR1 and the second region R2 or disposed on the surface different fromthe first region R1 and the second region R2, the present disclosure isnot limited thereto.

The material of the first signal input IS1, the second signal input IS2,the first wires L1 and the second wires L2 may for example includealuminum, copper, tin, nickel, gold, silver, other suitable conductivematerials or the combinations of the above-mentioned materials, but notlimited thereto. The first wires L1 and the second wires L2 may forexample include copper, silver, gold, aluminum, other suitableconductive materials or the combinations of the above-mentionedmaterials, but not limited thereto. Besides, the first wires L1 and thesecond wires L2 may include single layer structure or multi-layersstructure, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The material,the disposition way in the foldable display device and the design of thedriving unit DM, the first signal input IS1, the second signal inputIS2, the first wire L1 and the second wire L2 mentioned above may beapplied to the following embodiments of the present disclosure, and willnot be redundantly described in the following.

Because the first wires L1 and the second wires L2 do not pass throughthe folding axis FX1, as shown in FIG. 1, the possibility of breaking ofthe wires in the foldable region (such as the foldable region FR shownin FIG. 2) may be reduced. In some embodiments, the circuit board DPwith a driving unit DM disposed thereon may be folded backward to therear surface (in other words, the surface not for displaying images orpictures, such as the second surface S2 shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) ofthe display device along the folding axis FX2 and the folding axis FX3,such that the driving unit DM may be disposed on the second surface S2.In addition, because the portion of the touch electrodes TE in the firstregion R1 and the second region R2 near the folding axis FX2 and thefolding axis FX3 may include different materials such as foldingresistant materials, which is mentioned above, the possibility ofbreaking of the touch electrodes TE in the foldable region due tofolding may be reduced, and the stability and reliability of thefoldable display device 100 may be improved.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of anelectronic device in a folding state according to a first embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The materials and disposition ways of the layersshown in FIG. 3 may refer to FIG. 2, and will not be redundantlydescribed here. According to the present embodiment, the foldabledisplay device 100 may be folded repeatedly along the folding axis FX1,wherein when the foldable display device 100 is being folded along thefolding axis FX1, a folding angle θ may be included. It should be notedthat the folding angle θ may for example be defined as the includedangle of the same surface of the foldable display device 100 at twosides of the folding axis (such as the folding axis FX1) when thesurface is folded. In the present embodiment, the folding angle θ mayfor example range from 0 degree to 360 degrees (0°≤folding angleθ≤360°). For example, when the folding angle θ is 0 degrees, the firstsurface S1 (such as the display surface) of the foldable display device100 may for example be divided into a first surface S1-1 and a firstsurface S1-2 through the folding axis FX1, the first surface S1-1 andthe first surface S1-2 of the foldable display device 100 may be closeto each other, and the first surface S1-1 and the first surface S1-2 maysubstantially be parallel to each other. When the folding angle θ is 360degrees, the first surface S1-1 and the first surface S1-2 of thefoldable display device 100 may be away from each other, and the firstsurface S1-1 and the first surface S1-2 may substantially be parallel toeach other. When the folding angle θ is 180 degrees, the foldabledisplay device 100 may be in a not-folded state, and the first surfaceS1 generally presents a flat surface (that is, the first surface S1-1and the first surface S1-2 are coplanar, as shown in FIG. 2), but notlimited thereto. It should be noted that although the included angle ofthe first surface S1 (including the first surface S1-1 and the firstsurface S1-2) may be regarded as the folding angle θ, it is only forillustration. In other embodiments, the folding angle θ may be definedaccording to other surfaces (for example, the rear surface such as thesecond surface S2 of the display device, but not limited thereto) of thefoldable display device 100.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3,when the foldable display device 100 is being folded, the thickness ofeach of the layers in the foldable region FR may be lower than thethickness of the each of the layers in the non-foldable region NFR. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 3, the thickness T2 of the substrate SB in thefoldable region FR is lower than the thickness T3 of the substrate SB inthe non-foldable region NFR, but not limited thereto. It should be notedthat the thickness T2 and the thickness T3 of the substrate SB ismeasured when the foldable display device 100 is being folded. Besides,although the thickness of the substrate SB is taken as an example inFIG. 3, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In otherembodiments, when the foldable display device 100 is being folded, thethickness of any layer of the foldable display device 100 in thefoldable region FR may be lower than the thickness of the layer in thenon-foldable region NFR. The foldable region FR mentioned above may forexample be defined by connecting the two ends where the curved surfaceof each layer in FIG. 3 substantially appeared when the foldable displaydevice 100 is being folded, but not limited thereto. The definition ofthe folding angle θ may be applied to the following embodiments, andwill not be redundantly described.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates another partial cross-sectional view ofan electronic device in a folding state according to a first embodimentof the present disclosure, wherein FIG. 4 schematically illustrates across-sectional view of a portion of the foldable display device 100 onthe right side of the cut-off line J-J′ and near the end of the foldabledisplay device 100. The material and disposition way of each layer shownin FIG. 4 may refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, and will not be redundantlydescribed here. In addition, the substrate SB may include a supportinglayer SUF, adhesive layer ADH and an insulating layer INL. As shown inFIG. 4, the non-display region (such as the non-display region PR shownin FIG. 1) of the foldable display device 100 may for example be foldedto the rear surface (such as the third surface S3) of the display devicealong the folding axis FX2. In detail, the substrate SB, the displayunit DU, the touch unit TU, the optical layer OP and the cover layer COof the foldable display device 100 may be folded to the rear surface ofdisplay device along the folding axis FX2, and the first region R1 ofthe touch unit TU may not be folded to the rear surface of the displaydevice.

In the present embodiment, the driving circuits (such as the firstdriving circuit IC1 and the second driving circuit IC2 mentioned above)controlling the touch unit TU may be electrically connected to thedisplay unit DU (for example, electrically connected to the electricallayer EL), and the display unit DU may be electrically connected to thetouch unit TU (for example, a contact via CH may be disposed between thedisplay unit DU and the touch unit TU, or other wires may be disposed toelectrically connect the display unit DU and the touch unit TU).Therefore, the operation of the touch unit may be controlled through thedriving circuit. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the first drivingcircuit IC1 may be electrically connected to the electrical layer EL ofthe display unit DU, and the touch unit TU may be electrically connectedto the electrical layer EL through extra wires and/or contact via (asshown in FIG. 4), such that the operation of the touch unit TU may becontrolled by the first driving circuit IC1, but not limited thereto. Itshould be noted that although FIG. 4 only shows the situation that thenon-display region of the display device is folded along the foldingaxis FX2, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In someembodiments, the non-display region of the display device may be foldedalong the folding axis FX3, and the first region R1 in FIG. 4 may be thesecond region R2, but not limited thereto. The folding conditionsmentioned above may be applied to the embodiments and the variantembodiments of the present disclosure, and will not be redundantlydescribed. In addition, the electrical layer EL may be counted from theconductive layer that is the closet to the insulating layer INL, but notlimited thereto.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a top view of touch electrodes of anelectronic device according to a variant embodiment of a firstembodiment of the present disclosure. In order to simplify the figure,FIG. 5 only schematically shows the structure including the display unitDU and the touch unit TU, and some of the layers are omitted. Theelements or layers included in the display unit DU may refer to thedescription of the display unit DU mentioned above, and will not beredundantly described here. The display unit DU includes a sixth surfaceS6, a third surface S3 opposite to the sixth surface S6, and a sidesurface S4 and a side surface S5 connecting the sixth surface S6 and thethird surface S3. One of the differences between the variant embodimentshown in FIG. 5 and the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is that thenon-display region of the display device does not include the foldingaxis FX2 and the folding axis FX3 in the present variant embodiment.Therefore, the non-display region of the display device may not befolded to the rear surface (such as the third surface S3) of the displaydevice in the present variant embodiment, but not limited thereto.Another one of the differences between the present variant embodimentand the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is that the design of the wiresis different in the present variant embodiment. According to the presentvariant embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the first wires L1 and thesecond wires L2 may be disposed on the side surface S4, the side surfaceS5 and/or the third surface S3 of the display unit DU, and the firstsignal input IS1, the first driving circuit IC1, the second signal inputIS2 and the second driving circuit IC2 may be disposed on the thirdsurface S3 in the present variant embodiment, but not limited thereto.The first wires L1 and the second wires L2 may for example be formed onthe side surface S4 and the side surface S5 of the display unit DUthrough the imprint process or other suitable processes, and thematerial of the first wires L1 and the second wires L2 may include metalor conductive glue in the present variant embodiment, but the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the foldable display device 100 mayfurther include protective elements PM disposed on the first wires L1and the second wires L2, wherein the protective elements PM may coverthe first wires L1 and the second wires L2 to protect the first wires L1and the second wires L2. The protective elements PM may include anysuitable insulating materials, but not limited thereto. According to thepresent variant embodiment, because the first wires L1 and the secondwires L2 may be disposed on the side surface S4 of the display unit DU,the area of the peripheral region (such as the non-display region PRshown in FIG. 1) of the foldable display device 100 may be reduced, suchthat the space configuration of the foldable display device 100 may bemore variable and design flexibility of the foldable display device 100may be improved. The design of wires mentioned in the present variantembodiment may be applied to the above-mentioned embodiments and thefollowing embodiments of the present disclosure, and will not beredundantly described in the following.

As shown in FIG. 5, a spacing T1 may be included between the firstregion R1 and the second region R2 of the touch unit TU. According tothe present variant embodiment, the spacing T1 may be lower than πR(that is, T1≤πR). In some embodiments, the folding state of the foldabledisplay device 100 may be that at least one of the layers of thefoldable display device 100 is folded such that the different portionsof the surface of the layer may substantially be parallel to each other,for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the first surface S1-1 and the firstsurface S1-2 of the non-foldable region NFR may be parallel to eachother. In such situation, a virtual circle VC may be shown, and thevirtual circle VC may be tangent to the first surface S1-1 and the firstsurface S1-2 of the foldable display device 100 (for example, thevirtual circle VC may be tangent to the first surface S1-1 and the firstsurface S1-2 through the point PO1 and the point PO2). A virtual line LLmay pass through the points of tangency (such as the point PO1 and thepoint PO2) and the center of the virtual circle VC (in the presentembodiment, the center of the virtual circle VC may be for example bethe folding axis FX1), and the radius of the virtual circle VC may beregarded as the radius of curvature R of the foldable display device100. It should be noted that although the virtual circle VC and theradius of curvature R mentioned above is defined according to the firstsurface S1-1 and the first surface S1-2, the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. Other surfaces of the foldable display device 100 maybe used to define the virtual circle VC and the radius of curvature R.Because the spacing T1 may be lower than πR in the present variantembodiment, the situation of inability to touch or poor touch due to theexcessive distance between the first region R1 and the second region R2may be reduced, and the stability of the foldable display device 100 maybe improved. The design of the spacing T1 between the first region R1and the second region R2 mentioned in the present variant embodiment maybe applied to the above-mentioned embodiments and the followingembodiments of the present disclosure, and will not be redundantlydescribed in the following.

Moreover, although the structure in FIG. 5 shows that the first regionR1 and the second region R2 of the touch unit TU are located in the samelayer, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In someembodiments, the touch electrodes TE corresponding to the first regionR1 and the touch electrodes TE corresponding to the second region R2(shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15) may be located in different layers. Forexample, the touch electrodes TE in the first region R1 may be directlydisposed on the display unit DU, and then, a buffer layer may bedisposed on the first region R1, after that, the touch electrodes TE inthe second region R2 may be disposed on the buffer layer, but notlimited thereto. By disposing the first region R1 and the second regionR2 on different layers, the first wires L1 electrically connected to thefirst region R1 and the second wires L2 electrically connected to thesecond region R2 may be located at different layers, and the area of thenon-display region PR of the foldable display device 100 may be reduced,such that the design of the non-display device PR of the foldabledisplay device 100 may be more flexible. The design that the firstregion R1 and the second region R2 are located in different layers maybe applied to the above-mentioned embodiments and the followingembodiments of the present disclosure, and will not be redundantlydescribed in the following.

Referring to FIG. 1 again, as shown in FIG. 1, the foldable displaydevice 100 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosuremay selectively include a fingerprint identification region FP, whereinthe fingerprint identification region FP may partially overlap the firstregion R1 and the second region R2, but not limited thereto. Besides,although the fingerprint identification region FP is overlapped with thefirst region R1 in FIG. 1, the present disclosure is not limitedthereto. In some embodiments, the fingerprint identification region FPmay overlap the second region R2, or, the foldable display device 100may include two fingerprint identification regions FP respectivelyoverlap the first region R1 and the second region R2, but not limitedthereto. According to the present embodiment, the fingerprintidentification elements in the fingerprint identification region FP andthe touch electrodes TE in the first region R1 (may be the second regionR2 in other embodiments) shown in FIG. 1 may be disposed in differentlayers. For example, the touch electrodes TE in the first region R1 maybe located on the fingerprint identification elements in the fingerprintidentification region FP, or, the touch electrodes TE in the firstregion R1 may be located below the fingerprint identification elementsin the fingerprint identification region FP, the present disclosure isnot limited thereto. The fingerprint identification region FP may beelectrically connected to a processing unit FPU through the third wiresL3, wherein the processing unit FPU may be disposed at a side of thefolding axis (such as the folding axis FX2 shown in FIG. 1) opposite tothe display region DR, but not limited thereto. The first wires L1electrically connected to the first region R1 and the third wires L3electrically connected to the fingerprint identification region FP maybe disposed on different layers.

It should be noted that the disposing relationship between thefingerprint identification region FP and the first region R1 (or thesecond region R2) is not limited to the above-mentioned contents. Insome embodiments, the fingerprint identification elements in thefingerprint identification region FP and the touch electrodes TE in thefirst region R1 (or the second region R2) may be disposed on the samelayer, or, the fingerprint identification elements and the touchelectrodes TE may be integrated and share a sensing element, and a timecontrolling unit may be used to respectively control the sensingfunction of the fingerprint identification elements and the touchelectrodes TE, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the fingerprint identification region FP mayinclude a plurality of fingerprint identification electrodes (not shown)located in the fingerprint identification region FP, wherein theplurality of fingerprint identification electrodes may be electricallyconnected to the processing unit FPU through one of the third wires L3respectively. The material of the fingerprint identification electrodesmay refer to the material of the touch electrodes TE in the first regionR1 and the second region R2, and will not be redundantly described here.In the present embodiment, the “electrode density” may for example bedefined as the number of the electrodes in a unit area of the region ordefined as the distance between any two adjacent electrodes in an unitarea of the region, and according to the present embodiment, the numberof the fingerprint identification electrodes (not shown) in a unit areamay be greater than the number of the touch electrodes in a unit area,but not limited thereto. It should be noted that the unit area mentionedabove may for example be 100 μm*100 μm or 50 μm*50 μm, but not limitedthereto. In other embodiments, the distance between the adjacentfingerprint identification electrodes may be lower than the distancebetween the adjacent touch electrodes TE, but not limited thereto. Thatis, the electrode density of the fingerprint identification electrodesmay be greater than the electrode density of the touch electrodes TE. Itshould be noted that in the present embodiment, the comparison of theelectrode density may be based on an unit area of the same size, forexample, the electrode density of the fingerprint identificationelectrodes is greater than the electrode density of the touch electrodesTE mentioned above may be interpreted that the number of the fingerprintidentification electrodes in an unit area is great than the number ofthe touch electrodes TE in an unit area of the same size, but notlimited thereto. The examples of the unit area may refer to theabove-mentioned contents. Besides, in the present embodiment, the “wiredensity” may for example be defined as the number of wires in a unitarea of the region or defined as the distance between any two adjacentwires in an unit area of the region. It should be noted that the unitarea mentioned here may refer to the unit area mentioned above, and willnot be redundantly described. As shown in FIG. 1, the wire density ofthe third wires L3 electrically connected to the fingerprintidentification region FP may be greater than the wire density of thefirst wires L1 electrically connected to the first region R1 and thesecond wires L2 electrically connected to the second region R2, but notlimited thereto. According to the present embodiment, when the userplaces an object (such as finger) on the fingerprint identificationregion FP, the third wires L3 may transmit the electrical signalproduced from the fingerprint identification electrode to the processingunit FPU to complete fingerprint identification. The above-mentionedembodiments and variant embodiments, and the following embodiments andvariant embodiments of the present disclosure may include thefingerprint identification region FP, the third wire L3 and theprocessing unit FPU or not, and will not be redundantly described in thefollowing.

Referring to FIG. 1, as well as FIG. 2, and FIG. 16 to FIG. 18, FIG. 16schematically illustrates a top view of an electronic device includinghaptic actuators according to a first embodiment of the presentdisclosure, FIG. 17 schematically illustrates a partial cross-sectionalview of haptic actuators in an off state according to a first embodimentof the present disclosure, and FIG. 18 schematically illustrates apartial cross-sectional view of haptic actuators in an on stateaccording to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. According tothe present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the foldable display device100 may selectively include an actuating layer AL, wherein the actuatinglayer AL is overlapped with the second region R2, but not limitedthereto. In some embodiments, the foldable display device 100 may notinclude the actuating layer AL, or the actuating layer AL may beoverlapped with the first region R1. As shown in FIG. 2, the actuatinglayer AL may be disposed below the display unit DU and the touch unitTU, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the actuating layer ALmay not be disposed below the display unit DU, or, the actuating layerAL may replace the supporting layer (such as the supporting layer SUFshown in FIG. 4) of the substrate SB of the display unit DU to beintegrated into the display unit DU, but not limited thereto. Theactuating layer AL may be electrically connected to a actuatingprocessing unit APU through the fourth wires L4, wherein the actuatingprocessing unit APU may be disposed at a side of the folding axis (suchas the folding axis FX3 shown in FIG. 1) opposite to the display regionDR, but not limited thereto. The actuating layer AL may include a singlelayer structure or multi-layers structure, and may for example includesuitable piezoelectric materials or the materials that can be deformedaccording to temperature and magnetic force, but not limited thereto.The material of the fourth wires L4 may refer to the materials of thefirst wires L1, the second wires L2 and the third wires L3, and will notbe redundantly described here.

According to the present embodiment, the actuating layer AL may includeat least one actuating unit AU. As shown in FIG. 15, the actuating layerAL may include a plurality of actuating units AU, and the actuatingunits AU may respectively be electrically connected to the actuatingprocessing unit APU through one of the fourth wires L4, as shown in FIG.1 and FIG. 16, but not limited thereto. According to the presentembodiment, when the actuating processing unit APU is turned off, or theactuating layer AL is not driven by the actuating processing unit APU,the actuating units AU may be turned off, in other words, the actuatingunits AU may not be turned on, and the actuating layer AL may forexample be regarded as a planar layer or other suitable layers, as shownin FIG. 17, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. However,when the actuating processing unit APU is turned on or the actuatinglayer AL is being driven by the actuating processing unit APU, theactuating units AU may be turned on such that the actuating units AU maybe deformed. Besides, because the display unit DU is foldable, theportion of the display unit DU corresponding to the deformed actuatingunits AU may accordingly be deformed. As shown in FIG. 18, when aportion of the actuating units AU are deformed, for example, extendingalong the direction Z and being raised, the corresponding display unitDU may be affected by the raised actuating units AU, such that thedisplay unit DU may accordingly be raised. In such situation, the usermay observe the deformation of the foldable display device 100, forexample, the protrusion may be observed by the naked eye, or may be feltby the touch of the fingers.

In the present embodiment, the actuating units AU may for example bedisposed in the actuating layer AL with reference to the configurationof the keyboard (as shown in FIG. 16). When the foldable display device100 is to be used as a computer, the actuating processing unit APU maydrive the actuating layer AL to be deformed, such that the user caneasily locate when typing. In addition, different actuating units AU maycorrespond to different symbols, or a plurality of actuating units AUmay correspond to the same symbol. Therefore, according to the size ofthe symbol or the number of the actuating units AU corresponding to thesame symbol, the actuating units AU in the present embodiment is notlimited to have the same area. Moreover, the area of the actuating layerAL may not be the same as the area of the foldable display device 100(that is, the area of the top view shown in FIG. 1) in the presentembodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the area of the actuatinglayer AL may be lower than the area of the display unit DU, but notlimited thereto. It should be noted that the design of the actuatinglayer AL and the actuating units AU of the present disclosure is notlimited to the above-mentioned contents, and may include differentdesigns according to the demands.

The processing unit FPU, the driving circuits (including the firstdriving circuit IC1 and the second driving circuit IC2), the timecontroller TC and the actuating processing unit APU mentioned above mayfor example include chips or other suitable control units, but notlimited thereto. In addition, the material of these elements may beapplied to each of the embodiments and variant embodiments of thepresent disclosure, and will not be redundantly described in thefollowing.

More embodiments and variant embodiments of the present disclosure willbe described in the following. In order to simplify the description, thesame layers or elements in the following embodiments would be labeledwith the same symbol, and the features thereof will not be redundantlydescribed. The differences between each of the embodiments will bedescribed in detail in the following contents.

In the present embodiment, the foldable display device 100 may include afirst side SL1, a second side SL2 opposite to the first side SL1, athird side SL3 and a fourth side SL4 opposite to the third side SL3.Referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a top view of anelectronic device according to a second embodiment of the presentdisclosure. One of the main differences between the present embodimentand the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is the position where thesignal input is disposed. According to the present embodiment, as shownin FIG. 6, the first signal input IS1 and the second signal input IS2may be disposed at the first side SL1 of the foldable display device100, wherein the foldable display device 100 of the present embodimentmay include a folding axis FX4 parallel to the first side SL1 and closeto the first side SL1, and not include the folding axis FX2 and thefolding axis FX3 shown in FIG. 1, but not limited thereto. In someembodiments, the foldable display device 100 may not include the foldingaxis FX4. The folding axis FX4 may be located between the first signalinput IS1, the second signal input IS2 and the display region DR or thetouch unit TU in the direction X, wherein the first signal input IS1 andthe second signal input IS2 may for example be folded backward to thesecond surface S2 (or the rear surface of the display device, as shownin FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) of the foldable display device 100 along thefolding axis FX4, but not limited thereto.

In addition, the first signal input IS1 and the second signal input IS2may respectively be electrically connected to the first driving circuitIC1 and the second driving circuit IC2 of the driving units DM throughthe circuit board DP, wherein the driving units DM shown in FIG. 6 mayfor example be connected to each other through the time controller TC,such that the time controller TC may respectively control the drivingunits DM to drive the first region R1 and the second region R2 of thetouch unit TU in sequence, but not limited thereto. Because the firstsignal input IS1 and the second signal input IS2 is disposed at thefirst side SL1 of the foldable display device 100 in the presentembodiment, the area of the non-display region PR may be reduced, andthe space configuration of the foldable display device 100 may beimproved. In addition, because the first wires L1 and the second wiresL2 do not pass through the folding axis FX1, the possibility of breakingof the wires in the foldable region (such as the foldable region FRshown in FIG. 2) may be reduced. Moreover, although the structure shownin FIG. 6 includes two driving circuits (the first driving circuit IC1and the second driving circuit IC2), the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. For example, the driving unit DM may include one of thefirst driving circuit IC1 and the second driving circuit IC2, whereinthe first signal input IS1 and the second signal input IS2 may beelectrically connected to the driving circuit, and the driving circuitin the driving unit DM may drive the first region R1 and the secondregion R2 in sequence (or in a time sequence). The disposition of thefirst signal input IS1 and the second signal input IS2, and the numberdesign of the driving circuit mentioned above may be applied to theabove-mentioned embodiments and the following embodiments, and will notbe redundantly described in the following.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a top view of an electronic deviceaccording to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. One of themain differences between the present embodiment and the first embodimentshown in FIG. 1 is the design of the driving unit DM. As shown in FIG.7, the first driving circuit IC1 and the second driving circuit IC2 maybe located in the same driving unit DM in the present embodiment, andthe first signal input IS1 and the second signal input IS2 mayrespectively be electrically connected to the first driving circuit IC1and the second driving circuit IC2 of the driving unit DM through thecircuit board DP, but not limited thereto. In the present embodiment,because the length of the first wires L1 and the second wires L2 may beshort, the impedance of the wires may be reduced. In addition, becausethe first wires L1 and the second wires L2 do not pass through thefolding axis FX1, the possibility of breaking of the wires in thefoldable region (such as the foldable region FR shown in FIG. 2) may bereduced.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a top view of an electronic deviceaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. One of thedifferences between the present embodiment and the first embodimentshown in FIG. 1 is the position where the signal inputs are disposed. Asshown in FIG. 8, the first signal input IS1 of the foldable displaydevice 100 may be disposed at the first side SL1, and the second signalinput IS2 of the foldable display device 100 may be disposed at thethird side SL3, wherein the first side SL1 may be the longer side of thefoldable display device 100, and the third side SL3 may be the shorterside of the foldable display device 100 in the present embodiment, butnot limited thereto. In some embodiments, the first side SL1 may be theshorter side of the foldable display device 100, and the third side SL3may be the longer side of the foldable display device 100, or, the firstsignal input IS1 may selectively be disposed at the second side SL2, butnot the first side SL1 shown in FIG. 1, of the foldable display device100, but not limited thereto. Because the length of the first wires L1and the second wires L2 may be short in the present embodiment, theimpedance of the wires may thereby be reduced. In addition, because thefirst wires L1 and the second wires L2 do not pass through the foldingaxis FX1, the possibility of breaking of the wires in the foldableregion (such as the foldable region FR shown in FIG. 2) may be reduced.Besides, as shown in FIG. 8, the area of the first region R1 of thetouch unit TU may be lower than the area of the second region R2 of thetouch unit TU in the present embodiment, but not limited thereto. Insome embodiments, the area of the first region R1 may be greater thanthe area of the second region R2. Accordingly, the area of the firstregion R1 of the touch unit TU may be different from or the same as thearea of the second region R2 of the touch unit TU according to differentdemands of the design. The relationship between the area of the firstregion R1 and the area of the second region R2 may be applied to theabove-mentioned embodiments and the following embodiments of the presentdisclosure, and will not be redundantly described in the following.

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a top view of an electronic deviceaccording to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. One of thedifferences between the present embodiment and the first embodimentshown in FIG. 1 is the position where the signal inputs are disposed. Asshown in FIG. 9, the first signal input IS1 and the second signal inputIS2 may be disposed at the third side SL3 of the foldable display device100, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the first signalinput IS1 and the second signal input IS2 may be disposed at the fourthside SL4 of the foldable display device 100. According to the presentembodiment, the foldable display device 100 may include the folding axisFX1, and may selectively include the folding axis FX3. The foldabledisplay device 100 may for example be folded along the folding axis FX3,and the first signal input IS1 and the second signal input IS2 may befolded to the second surface S2 (or the rear surface of the displaydevice shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) of the foldable display device 100,but not limited thereto. In the present embodiment, because the firstsignal input IS1 and the second signal input IS2 are disposed at thesame side of the foldable display device 100, the area of thenon-display region PR of the foldable display device 100 may be reduced,and the space configuration of the foldable display device 100 may beimproved. In addition, because the first wires L1 electrically connectedto the touch unit TU may pass through the folding axis FX1 (in otherwords, the first wires may pass through the foldable region FR shown inFIG. 2) in the present embodiment, a portion of the first wires L1located in the foldable region may include different designs, but notlimited thereto. Moreover, although the second wires L2 shown in FIG. 9is disposed in the non-display region PR, distributed along the firstside SL1, and electrically connected to the second region R2, thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, thesecond wires L2 may for example be located in a different layer from thefirst wires L1, and the second wires L2 may for example pass above orbelow the first region R1 and be electrically connected to the secondregion R2, but not limited thereto.

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates a top view of a portion of wires of anelectronic device according to a fifth embodiment of the presentdisclosure. For example, the first wire L1 shown in FIG. 10 may be thefirst wires L1 in the region P3 shown in FIG. 9, wherein the first wiresL1 in the region P3 may represent the portion of the first wires L1corresponding to the foldable region (such as the foldable region FRshown in FIG. 2). It should be noted that the range of the definedregion P3 shown in FIG. 9 is only for illustration, the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. Besides, the first wire L1 shown inFIG. 10 may be the second wire L2 in other embodiments, the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 10, the first wireL1 may include a plurality of opening OPE, wherein the plurality ofopening OPE may for example be disposed along the direction Y. Theplurality of opening OPE may also be arranged in multiple rows, forexample, the first wire L1 may include two rows of opening OPE in FIG.10, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the plurality ofopening OPE may be arranged on the first wire L1 in any suitable way.Besides, although the shape of the plurality of opening OPE in FIG. 10is circular, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example,the shape of the plurality of opening OPE may include an arc, otherangular shapes, or any suitable shape, and each of the plurality ofopening OPE may include different shapes or include the same shape, thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto. According to the presentembodiment, when the foldable display device 100 is being folded alongthe folding axis FX1, the effect of the stress to the first wires L1 maybe reduced by the plurality of opening OPE, and the possibility ofbreaking of the first wires L1 located in the foldable region (such asthe foldable region FR) may be reduced.

It should be noted that the design that the first wires L1 include theplurality of opening OPE mentioned above may not be limited to beapplied to the first wires in the region P3. For example, the wires mayinclude the same design as long as there is a folding axis (such as thefolding axis FX2 and the folding axis FX3 shown in FIG. 1), but notlimited thereto.

FIG. 11 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion ofwires shown in FIG. 10 along the line A-A′. In order to simplify thefigures, FIG. 11 and the following FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 only show thesubstrate SB and the first wire L1, and the layers between the substrateSB and the first wire L1 are omitted. It should be noted that althoughFIG. 11 to FIG. 13 only show the structure of the first wire L1, thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, thesecond wire L2, the third wire L3 and the fourth wire L4 may include thesame structure shown in FIG. 11 to FIG. 13. As shown in FIG. 11, thefirst wire L1 may include a structure formed by the stacking of a firstmetal layer M1, a second metal layer M2 and a third metal layer M3,wherein the first metal layer M1 and the third metal layer M3 mayinclude titanium (Ti), and the second metal layer M2 may includealuminum (Al). Therefore, the first wire L1 may for example be aTi/Al/Ti three-layer structure, but not limited thereto. It should benoted that although the first wire L1 is formed of three metal layers inFIG. 11, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In someembodiments, the first wire L1 may be formed of more metal layers orfewer metal layers.

In the present embodiment, the plurality of opening OPE may for examplebe formed by removing a portion of the first metal layer M1 and thesecond metal layer M2, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, theplurality of opening OPE may for example be formed by removing a portionof the first metal layer M1, the second metal layer M2, and the thirdmetal layer M3. When the plurality of opening OPE is formed by removinga portion of the first metal layer M1 and the second metal layer M2, thethird metal layer M3 may be seen by viewing the plurality of opening OPEin the top view direction Z. When the plurality of opening OPE is formedby removing a portion of the first metal layer M1, the second metallayer M2, and the third metal layer M3, the layer below the first wireL1 may be seen by viewing the plurality of opening OPE in the top viewdirection Z.

FIG. 12 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion ofwires of an electronic device according to a variant embodiment of afifth embodiment of the present disclosure. One of the differencesbetween the variant embodiment shown in FIG. 12 and the embodiment shownin FIG. 11 is that the wires close to the folding axis may includedifferent designs. As shown in FIG. 12, the formation of the wires inthe present variant embodiment may for example include forming aninsulating layer IN on the substrate SB at first, forming a plurality ofprotruding structures PP (such as the protruding structure PP1, theprotruding structure PP2 and the protruding structure PP3 shown in FIG.12) with the same height or different heights after the insulating layerIN is patterned, and disposing the fourth metal layer M4 on theinsulating layer IN. Specifically, in the present embodiment, a portionof the fourth metal layer M4 may be disposed between the adjacent two ofthe protruding structures PP and in contact with the layer directlybelow the insulating layer IN (not shown), and a portion of the fourthmetal layer M4 may be disposed on the side surface and the top surfaceof the protruding structures PP. The first wire L1 may include a foldingdesign due to the protruding structures PP of the insulating layer IN.Besides, the heights included between the adjacent two of the protrudingstructures PP may be different, for example, the height D1 (the heightincluded between the protruding structure PP1 and the protrudingstructure PP2) may be greater than the height D2 (the height includedbetween the protruding structure PP2 and the protruding structure PP3)in FIG. 12, wherein the height is defined as the shortest distance fromthe top surfaces of the adjacent two of the protruding structures PP tothe surface which is the closest to the bottom surface, but not limitedthereto. The length of the wires may be adjusted by the protrudingstructures PP including different heights to reduce the possibility ofbreaking of the wires. The material of the fourth metal layer M4 mayrefer to the first metal layer Ml to the third metal layer M3 in theabove-mentioned embodiment, and will not be redundantly described here.In addition, the insulating layer IN may for example include siliconoxide, silicon nitride or other suitable insulating materials, but notlimited thereto. The material of the insulating layer IN may be appliedto the insulating layers in the following embodiments or variantembodiments, and will not be redundantly described in the following.

FIG. 13 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion ofwires of an electronic device according to another variant embodiment ofa fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. One of the differencesbetween the variant embodiment shown in FIG. 13 and the embodiment shownin FIG. 11 is that the wires close to the folding axis may includedifferent designs. As shown in FIG. 13, the formation of the wires inthe present variant embodiment may for example include forming aninsulating layer IN1 on the substrate SB at first, disposing a fifthmetal layer M5 on the insulating layer IN1 after the insulating layerIN1 is patterned, forming an insulating layer IN2 on the fifth metallayer M5, patterning the insulating layer IN2 to expose a portion of thefifth metal layer M5, forming a sixth metal layer M6, and disposing aninsulating layer IN3 on the sixth metal layer M6. According to thepresent variant embodiment, because the wires may include foldingdesign, the possibility of breaking of the wires due to the effect ofthe stress may be reduced when the foldable display device 100 is beingfolded. In addition, because the wires may include the fifth metal layerM5 and the sixth metal layer M6 in the present variant embodiment, whenone of the fifth metal layer M5 and the sixth metal layer M6 is brokendue to the effect of the stress, the wires can still function normallysince another one of the fifth metal layer M5 and the sixth metal layerM6 is not broken.

The design that can reduce the possibility of breaking of the wiresclose to the folding axis described in the above-mentioned embodimentsand variant embodiments may be applied to other embodiments and variantembodiments of the present disclosure, and will not be redundantlydescribed.

Referring to FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, FIG. 19 schematically illustrates aflow chart of auto function of an electronic device according to a firstembodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 20 schematicallyillustrates an electronic device in different states according to afirst embodiment of the present disclosure. In order to simplify thefigure, FIG. 20 only shows the display unit DU, the first region R1 andthe second region R2 of the touch unit TU, the actuating layer AL andthe folding axis FX1, and other layers or elements are omitted.According to the present embodiment, the foldable display device 100 mayinclude auto function. Specifically, the foldable display device 100 maydetect at least one status of the device, and may decide the mode of thedevice under the detected status.

As shown in FIG. 19, a step S102 may be performed on the foldabledisplay device 100 to detect whether the display unit DU includes thenon-foldable region. When the foldable display device 100 does notinclude the non-foldable region, it may for example be in a viewingmode. In detail, when it is detected that the foldable display device100 does not include the non-foldable region (such as the non-foldableregion NFR shown in FIG. 2), the entire foldable display device 100 maybe foldable, and may form a curved surface (that is, the foldabledisplay device 100 may only include the foldable region FR, as shown inthe status (I) of FIG. 20). In status (I), the display unit DU may beturned on to display images, the first region R1 and the second regionR2 of the touch unit TU may be turned off and may not include touchfunction, and the actuating units in the actuating layer AL may beturned off and may not be deformed. Therefore, the foldable displaydevice 100 may for example be a curved display in the status (I), butnot limited thereto. It should be noted that the “turned off element”mentioned above may represent that the element is not turned on becausethere is no power supply, or, although the element is supplied withpower, it is not turned on (for example, in a stationary state) to saveelectricity, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In thepresent embodiment, the stationary state of the display unit DU mayrepresent that the displayed images observed by the eyes is dark, andthe stationary state of the touch unit TU may represent that no signalscanning is performed, but the present disclosure is not limitedthereto. The concepts of the turned off element mentioned above may beapplied to the following contents, and will not be redundantlydescribed.

When the foldable display device 100 is detected that the deviceincludes the non-foldable region in the step S102, a step S104 mayfurther be performed on the foldable display device 100 to detect thefolding angle θ of the foldable display device 100. The definition ofthe folding angle θ is described in the above-mentioned contents, andwill not be redundantly described here. When the detected folding angleθ is lower than or equal to 10 degrees (θ≤10°), the foldable displaydevice 100 may be in a turned off mode. In detail, the first region R1and the second region R2 of the touch unit TU are close to each othertoward the folding axis FX1, and the folding angle θ of the non-foldableregion NFR located at two sides of the folding axis FX1 meets theabove-mentioned conditions, as shown in the status (II) of FIG. 20. Instatus (II), the display unit DU may be turned off and may not displayimages, the first region R1 and the second region R2 of the touch unitTU may be turned off and may not include touch function, and theactuating units in the actuating layer AL may be turned off and may notbe deformed.

When the detected folding angle θ is greater than 10 degrees and lowerthan or equal to 170 degrees (10°<θ≤170°), the foldable display device100 may be in a laptop mode. In detail, the first region R1 and thesecond region R2 of the touch unit TU are close to each other toward thefolding axis FX1, and the folding angle θ of the non-foldable region NFRlocated at two sides of the folding axis FX1 meets the above-mentionedconditions, as shown in the status (III) of FIG. 20. In status (III),the first region R1 of the touch unit TU may be turned off, the portionof the display unit DU corresponding to the first region R1 may beserved as a display screen, the second region R2 of the touch unit TUmay be turned on and served as a keyboard, and the actuating layer ALcorresponding to the second region R2 may be turned on and may bedeformed. It should be noted that although the portion of the displayunit DU corresponding to the first region R1 is served as a displayscreen, and the portion of the display unit DU corresponding to thesecond region R2 is served as a keyboard in the present embodiment, thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, the radius ofcurvature of the foldable display device 100 in status (III) may forexample range from 0.1 centimeters (cm) to 5 centimeters (0.1 cm≤radiusof curvature≤5 cm). The definition of the radius of curvature isdescribed in the above-mentioned contents, and will not be redundantlydescribed here.

When the detected folding angle θ is greater than 170 degrees and lowerthan or equal to 180 degrees (170°<θ≤180°), the foldable display device100 may be in a planar mode, as shown in the status (IV) of FIG. 20. Indetail, the non-foldable region NFR located at two sides of the foldingaxis FX1 may substantially be coplanar, as shown in the status (IV) ofFIG. 20. In status (IV), the display unit DU may be turned on to displayimages, the first region R1 and the second region R2 of the touch unitTU may be turned on to provide touch function, and the actuating layerAL may be turned off to save electricity, but not limited thereto. Inaddition, the radius of curvature of the foldable display device 100 mayfor example be zero or infinity in the planar mode. That is, thefoldable display device 100 may almost be a flat without being folded,but not limited thereto.

The auto function of the foldable display device 100 in theabove-mentioned embodiment may be applied to other embodiments of thepresent disclosure. Besides, the modes described in the above-mentionedembodiment are only for illustration, and the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. The foldable display device 100 of the presentdisclosure may be designed to include different modes according todifferent demands.

In summary, a foldable display device is provided by the presentdisclosure, the device includes a display unit, a touch unit and adriving unit. The touch unit may include a first region and a secondregion, wherein the first driving circuit and the second driving circuitin the driving unit may separately drive the first region and the secondregion, such that the first region and the second region may be turnedon separately, and the functionality of the foldable display device isimproved. In addition, the foldable display device of the presentdisclosure may further include actuating units, wherein the actuatingunits provide the effect of convenient locating and convenient operationwhen the foldable display device is used as a laptop, thereby improvingthe convenience of the foldable display device.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations of the device and method may be made whileretaining the teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the abovedisclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and boundsof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device, comprising: a display unitcomprising a substrate, wherein the display unit is foldable and has afolding axis; a touch unit disposed on the substrate and comprising afirst sub-unit and a second sub-unit, wherein the first sub-unit and thesecond sub-unit are not directly connected; a first signal inputelectrically connected to the first sub-unit; a second signal inputelectrically connected to the second sub-unit; a driving unit; and afoldable region capable of being folded along the folding axis andoverlapped with the substrate; wherein the first sub-unit is driven bythe driving unit through the first signal input, and the second sub-unitis driven by the driving unit through the second signal input, whereinthe first sub-unit is located at a side of the folding axis, the secondsub-unit is located at another side of the folding axis, and the firstsub-unit and the second sub-unit are separated by a spacing at thefoldable region.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein thedriving unit comprises a first driving circuit and a second drivingcircuit, the first sub-unit is driven by the first driving circuit, andthe second sub-unit is driven by the second driving circuit.
 3. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein one of the first sub-unit and thesecond sub-unit is on and the other is off.
 4. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the first sub-unit and the second sub-unit are both onor off.
 5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first sub-unitand the second sub-unit both comprise a plurality of touch electrodes.6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first sub-unit and thesecond sub-unit are driven by the driving unit in sequence.
 7. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device has a radiusof curvature, and the spacing is lower than π multiplied by the radiusof curvature.